1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to videoconferencing systems and, more particularly, to hardware appropriate for using at a videoconferencing workstation.
2. Background
The present invention relates to computer-based systems for enhancing collaboration between and among individuals who are separated by distance and/or time (referred to herein as xe2x80x9cdistributed collaborationxe2x80x9d). Principal among the invention""s goals is to replicate in a desktop environment, to the maximum extent possible, the full range, level and intensity of interpersonal communication and information sharing which would occur if all the participants were together in the same room at the same time (referred to herein as xe2x80x9cface-to-face collaborationxe2x80x9d).
It is well known to behavioral scientists that interpersonal communication involves a large number of subtle and complex visual cues, referred to by names like xe2x80x9ceye contactxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbody language,xe2x80x9d which provide additional information over and above the spoken words and explicit gestures. These cues are, for the most part, processed subconsciously by the participants, and often control the course of a meeting.
In addition to spoken words, demonstrative gestures and behavioral cues, collaboration often involves the sharing of visual informationxe2x80x94e.g., printed material such as articles, drawings, photographs, charts and graphs, as well as videotapes and computer-based animations, visualizations and other displaysxe2x80x94in such a way that the participants can collectively and interactively examine, discuss, annotate and revise the information. This combination of spoken words, gestures, visual cues and interactive data sharing significantly enhances the effectiveness of collaboration in a variety of contexts, such as xe2x80x9cbrainstormingxe2x80x9d sessions among professionals in a particular field, consultations between one or more experts and one or more clients, sensitive business or political negotiations, and the like. In distributed collaboration settings, then, where the participants cannot be in the same place at the same time, the beneficial effects of face-to-face collaboration will be realized only to the extent that each of the remotely located participants can be xe2x80x9crecreatedxe2x80x9d at each site.
To illustrate the difficulties inherent in reproducing the beneficial effects of face-to-face collaboration in a distributed collaboration environment, consider the case of decision-making in the fast-moving commodities trading markets, where many thousands of dollars of profit (or loss) may depend on an expert trader making the right decision within hours, or even minutes, of receiving a request from a distant client. The expert requires immediate access to a wide range of potentially relevant information such as financial data, historical pricing information, current price quotes, newswire services, government policies and programs, economic forecasts, weather reports, etc. Much of this information can be processed by the expert in isolation. However, before making a decision to buy or sell, he or she will frequently need to discuss the information with other experts, who may be geographically dispersed, and with the client. One or more of these other experts may be in a meeting, on another call, or otherwise temporarily unavailable. In this event, the expert must communicate xe2x80x9casynchronouslyxe2x80x9dxe2x80x94to bridge time as well as distance.
As discussed below, prior art desktop videoconferencing systems provide, at best, only a partial solution to the challenges of distributed collaboration in real time, primarily because of their lack of high-quality video (which is necessary for capturing the visual cues discussed above) and their limited data sharing capabilities. Similarly, telephone answering machines, voice mail, fax machines and conventional electronic mail systems provide incomplete solutions to the problems presented by deferred (asynchronous) collaboration because they are totally incapable of communicating visual cues, gestures, etc. and, like conventional videoconferencing systems, are generally limited in the richness of the data that can be exchanged.
It has been proposed to extend traditional videoconferencing capabilities from conference centers, where groups of participants must assemble in the same room, to the desktop, where individual participants may remain in their office or home. Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,917 to Tompkins et al. for Video Conferencing Network issued on Dec. 1, 1987. It has also been proposed to augment such video conferencing systems with limited xe2x80x9cvideo mailxe2x80x9d facilities. However, such dedicated videoconferencing systems (and extensions thereof) do not effectively leverage the investment in existing embedded information infrastructuresxe2x80x94such as desktop personal computers and workstations, local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) environments, building wiring, etc.xe2x80x94to facilitate interactive sharing of data in the form of text, images, charts, graphs, recorded video, screen displays and the like. That is, they attempt to add computing capabilities to a videoconferencing system, rather than adding multimedia and collaborative capabilities to the user""s existing computer system. Thus, while such systems may be useful in limited contexts, they do not provide the capabilities required for maximally effective collaboration, and are not cost-effective.
Conversely, audio and video capture and processing capabilities have recently been integrated into desktop and portable personal computers and workstations (hereinafter generically referred to as xe2x80x9cworkstationsxe2x80x9d). These capabilities have been used primarily in desktop multimedia authoring systems for producing CD-ROM-based works. While such systems are capable of processing, combining, and recording audio, video and data locally (i.e., at the desktop), they do not adequately support networked collaborative environments, principally due to the substantial bandwidth requirements for real-time transmission of high-quality, digitized audio and full-motion video which preclude conventional LANs from supporting more than a few workstations. Thus, although currently available desktop multimedia computers frequently include videoconferencing and other multimedia or collaborative capabilities within their advertised feature set (see, e.g., A. Reinhardt, xe2x80x9cVideo Conquers the Desktop,xe2x80x9d BYTE, September 1993, pp. 64-90), such systems have not yet solved the many problems inherent in any practical implementation of a scalable collaboration system.
In accordance with the present invention, computer hardware, software and communications technologies are combined in novel ways to produce a multimedia collaboration system that greatly facilitates distributed collaboration, in part by replicating the benefits of face-to-face collaboration. The system tightly integrates a carefully selected set of multimedia and collaborative capabilities, principal among which are desktop teleconferencing and multimedia mail.
As used herein, desktop teleconferencing includes real-time audio and/or video teleconferencing, as well as data conferencing. Data conferencing, in turn, includes snapshot sharing (sharing of xe2x80x9csnapshotsxe2x80x9d of selected regions of the user""s screen), application sharing (shared control of running applications), shared whiteboard (equivalent to sharing a xe2x80x9cblankxe2x80x9d window), and associated telepointing and annotation capabilities. Teleconferences may be recorded and stored for later playback, including both audio/video and all data interactions.
While desktop teleconferencing supports real-time interactions, multimedia mail permits the asynchronous exchange of arbitrary multimedia documents, including previously recorded teleconferences. Indeed, it is to be understood that the multimedia capabilities underlying desktop teleconferencing and multimedia mail also greatly facilitate the creation, viewing, and manipulation of high-quality multimedia documents in general, including animations and visualizations that might be developed, for example, in the course of information analysis and modeling. Further, these animations and visualizations may be generated for individual rather than collaborative use, such that the present invention has utility beyond a collaboration context.
The invention provides for a collaborative multimedia workstation (CMW) system wherein very high-quality audio and video capabilities can be readily superimposed onto an enterprise""s existing computing and network infrastructure, including workstations, LANs, WANs, and building wiring.
In a preferred embodiment, the system architecture employs separate real-time and asynchronous networksxe2x80x94the former for real-time audio and video, and the latter for non-real-time audio and video, text, graphics and other data, as well as control signals. These networks are interoperable across different computers (e.g., Macintosh, Intel-based PCs, and Sun workstations), operating systems (e.g., Apple System 7, DOS/Windows, and UNIX) and network operating systems (e.g., Novell Netware and Sun ONC+). In many cases, both networks can actually share the same cabling and wall jack connector.
The system architecture also accommodates the situation in which the user""s desktop computing and/or communications equipment provides varying levels of media-handling capability. For example, a collaboration sessionxe2x80x94whether real-time or asynchronousxe2x80x94may include participants whose equipment provides capabilities ranging from audio only (a telephone) or data only (a personal computer with a modem) to a full complement of real-time, high-fidelity audio and full-motion video, and high-speed data network facilities.
The CMW system architecture is readily scalable to very large enterprise-wide network environments accommodating thousands of users. Further, it is an open architecture that can accommodate appropriate standards. Finally, the CMW system incorporates an intuitive, yet powerful, user interface, making the system easy to learn and use.
The present invention thus provides a distributed multimedia collaboration environment that achieves the benefits of face-to-face collaboration as nearly as possible, leverages (xe2x80x9csnaps on toxe2x80x9d) existing computing and network infrastructure to the maximum extent possible, scales to very large networks consisting of thousand of workstations, accommodates emerging standards, and is easy to learn and use. The specific nature of the invention, as well as its objects, features, advantages and uses, will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description and examples, and from the accompanying drawings.